More than just a boss, Editor-In-Chief Tom Fjerstad was often in the editorial trenches with his staff. Helping to craft stories, traveling to on-site events and offering his firsthand experience as a wheelchair user to our mission, he softly led by example.
Tom lost his 16-month long battle with leukemia and passed away peacefully Dec. 9, 2022, at his home in Phoenix, Ariz., surrounded by his immediate family. A Navy veteran, Tom was 63.
Born Dec. 16, 1958 in Litchfield, Minn., Tom joined the U.S. Navy out of high school and spent four years working as an aviation electronics technician, flying aboard a Lockheed EP-3 Orion out of Rota, Spain. He later became a recruiter for the naval reserve in Minnesota.
It was during that time that Tom sustained a level T2 spinal-cord injury (SCI) in a 1989 car accident on his way home from the recruiting office. This is where he would begin a long and impressive history with Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) and eventually become the third editor-in-chief for SPORTS ‘N SPOKES.
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